The Love Bug
by Paratale
Summary: Alternatively, Green Eyed Monster Syndrome. In which Kiku gets jealous, and is sure he must be ill. There's simply no other explanation. Fluffy AmeriPan, hints of GerIta.


Chimes tinkled softly as the three men proceeded through the door. The Italian restaurant was conveniently located directly across the street from this month's conference building, but even if its position had not been so ideal, Feliciano would no doubt have dragged Kiku and Ludwig to it anyway.

"Table for three! Ve, I'm so excited~" giggled the Italian. Kiku and Ludwig shared a brief look of half exasperation, half endearment as the waitress seated them. Feliciano continued to chatter on about all manner of things as the trio examined their menus.

Kiku had just decided on the pasta primavera when he noticed a familiar figure entering the restaurant. He immediately experienced the odd dropping sensation in his stomach, that he had been noticing lately, and felt a slight flush grow on his cheeks. As he placed the menu on the table, a damp spot of sweat glittered where his thumb had been. These symptoms occurred every couple of weeks or so, and at every conference. Never having experienced anything like them before (save perhaps for some pre-conference nerves and such), he'd never figured out just what was causing these new sensations, and had for some time worried he might have become ill. However, a quick check-up with his doctor had yielded nothing. The doctor had suggested that he make a log of when the symptoms occurred and try to connect it with some activity or food, so Kiku pulled out a small notebook and jotted down, _After conference at an Italian restaurant, 7:20 pm. Jet lag? _ It very briefly occurred to him to note that Alfred had just walked in, but as he could think of no reason why that would have any effect, he put it out of his mind as the waitress set down their water.

Alfred sat down in a nearby booth. Fading sunlight from the large bay window behind the booth intersected Alfred's hair, creating a golden corona around his head. Kiku stared at it for a few seconds, reminded vaguely of some images of the sun he had seen once, then vigorously pondered the optical implications of that image; latching on to this reason for staring like a bird gripping a branch against the heavy wind. He tore his eyes away shortly and took a businesslike sip of his water.

Over the next ten minutes or so, Kiku started to feel more normal, though for some reason he kept thinking how remarkable it was that Alfred had decided to dine at this same restaurant. _It really is not so remarkable,_ he tried to tell himself. _I should be more surprised that there are not _more_ people from the conference here, given the location._

His feeling of normalcy soon vanished, however, when he turned to look at Alfred again and saw that Francis was now seated across from the blond. Alfred was leaning across the table towards the Frenchman, who was gesticulating vigorously as he told some story (no doubt about one of his many sexual conquests). When he reached the conclusion, Alfred threw back his head and laughed uproarously. His shift backwards meant his head no longer blocked the blinding evening sun as it was about to begin its set, and Kiku was forced to look away, blinking floaters from his eyes.

"Are you feeling okay, Kiku?" Feliciano asked.

"O-Of course," Kiku replied, taken aback. "Just feeling a little off. Jet lag, no doubt." But his voice quivered slightly. He did not sound like there was no doubt.

"But, your cheeks are pink! If Kiku doesn't feel well, he should say so," Feliciano said, sounding a little concerned.

"I appreciate your concern, but I have been experiencing these symptoms for some time now," Kiku replied, omitting the fact that they had just reached a new level of intensity. "I have already seen a medical professional about them. As of yet the cause has not been determined, but the doctor says it cannot be anything truly serious." _Though my stomach seems to have something else to say about it_, he added privately as he caught sight of Alfred and Francis out of the corner of his eye and a fresh wave of nausea hit him. For reasons unknown to him, he turned his head to look again.

Alfred was talking now. His head was resting on his palm, and Kiku could not make out his expression. Was his hand under the table? Was Francis's? What if they were... Holding hands? And what difference did it make if they were? Francis reached out and clapped a hand on Alfred's shoulder-

He must have eaten something earlier today that gave him heartburn, and now his stomach acids were on a rampage. The pounding in his heart must be a side effect of lack of sleep due to his jet lag. He'd never read any medical literature that connected the two, but he knew it couldn't be an arhythmia because he'd just been to the doctor and there was simply no other explanation. He couldn't concentrate- also lack of sleep. His flushed cheeks and sweaty palms... It had to be a fever. He had caught something from those airplane seats. He should have brought hand sanitizer, how could he have forgotten?

"Please excuse me," Kiku said abruptly, practically leaping out of his seat (very unprofessionally, he noted with embarrassment) and walked swiftly to the bathroom. He stood by the sink for a second, and felt a sharp pain in his palms. Realizing that his hands were balled into fists, he uncurled them and saw that his fingernails had left deep purple crescent-shaped marks in the flesh. He stepped into the largest stall, locked the door, knelt in front of the toilet, took a deep breath and prepared to lose his lunch.

A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Kiku frowned. What was the point of all the stomach pain and feverish symptoms if he wasn't going to vomit? His confused expression reflected back at him from the water in the bright white bowl of the toilet. He got up off his knees and left the stall, hearing his footsteps clank loudly on the shiny tiled flooring. Maybe splashing some cold water on his face would help a little. He was in the middle of doing so when Feliciano entered the bathroom.

After Kiku's sudden departure, Feliciano had noticed a small notebook sitting at his place at the table. He reached for it with his usual disregard for privacy and began to flip through it.

"Should you really be reading that?" Ludwig questioned. Feliciano politely ignored him as he flipped to the front.

"Ludwig, it's a log book! Like the ones you keep, ve!" He leaned his head against Ludwig's shoulder, eliciting a blush from the tall German, and began to read.

_Symptoms log_

_11/24 - 3:00 pm. Abdominal discomfort. Had just tried eating a hamburger._

_ 11/30 - 8:20 pm. Flushing and acute abdominal discomfort. Occurred after falling asleep during the "scary" movie on scary movie night and then waking up._

_ 12/14 - 6:30 pm. Sweaty palms and some abdominal discomfort. Occurred during a phone call._

_ 12/19 - 7:31 am. Sweaty palms, flushing, abdominal pains. About to visit New York City._

_ 12/20 - 11:44 pm. Flushing, abdominal pains, disorientation. At Alfred's Christmas party. Just ate a candy cane. Allergic reaction to mistletoe?_

_ 12/27 - 7:33 pm. All the usual. Immediately before "scary" movie night._

The log continued right up to the present day, about 15 minutes ago.

"I wonder what could possibly be causing all of this," Ludwig said thoughtfully, having been reading over Feliciano's shoulder. He was especially interested because some of the symptoms Kiku described had been affecting Ludwig himself for quite some time. Maybe he ought to try keeping a log like this.

"Ve... I think I see the problem," Feliciano said, standing up and heading to the bathroom. Ludwig stared after him, utterly mystified.

Feliciano entered to find Kiku at the sink, splashing his face with water.

"I read your notebook." Kiku decided there was no point in mentioning the infringement on his privacy. "You're not sick!" The Italian paused for dramatic effect, a huge smile spreading across his face.

"Then why am I experiencing symptoms?"

Feliciano pulled out the petite notebook and opened it up to the first page. "Scary movie night. What happened that day?"

"_Ano_..." Kiku thought back. It had been several months, but for some reason it was easy for him to recall that evening with intense clarity. "Alfred and I were watching an American horror movie. It was rather mediocre and I had had a long day so I fell asleep about halfway through." He paused. He had woken up to find his head resting in Alfred's lap. Utterly embarrassed and without a clue to what he ought to say, he had simply pretended to still be asleep, and when the movie was over Alfred had scooped him up in his arms and carried him to bed. Then, presumably too afraid to go back home, Alfred had curled up next to him. Naturally, this kept Kiku awake all night, and around sunrise Alfred left, leaving a brief note summarizin what had occurred. Falteringly, he explained all of this to Feliciano, who squealed with delight.

"How sweet, ve~!" He giggled. "Now, let's see, who were you calling on the phone the next week?"

"I-I do not remember who it was," Kiku said. "It was several months ago." Feliciano looked at him sternly. It was an odd sight, and Kiku relented.

"It was Alfred," he sighed. "He was calling to check up on me because I was flying to Sweden for a meeting when my layover in Moscow was delayed due to a lighting malfunction on the runway. I was at the airport for about 12 hours trying to catch another flight. He was worried because he knows I do not speak a lot of Russian, even though I was fine because most of the workers knew English." But though he would never admit it, Kiku had been deeply disturbed by the chaos, had secretly been relieved to hear a familiar voice.

"And who were you visiting New York City with?"

"Alfred."

They continued down the list. Kiku began to realize that Alfred was the missing link for his symptoms. But...

"And today, you had these symptoms again when you saw Alfred, but they got worse when Francis came!"

There was no possible way.

He could not possibly be... _jealous_... of Francis, could he?

"No..." Kiku breathed. Feliciano looked at him expectantly.

"But..." Kiku leaned against the sink. "If I am... jealous... than that means I have..." He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"It's not so bad, Kiku! You're just in love!" Feliciano beamed.

"_WHAT_?" Kiku let out a rather unmanly shriek. "Certainly not! I was about to say that I have... _feelings_ for him! I am not in... _no_!"

"Oh, Kiku is so uptight, ve~!" Feliciano put an arm around his friend, who flinched.

"I cannot- I have no desire for a... relationship."

"Now that's just not true!" Feliciano pouted. He removed his arm from Kiku's shoulder so as to place both hands on his hips. "How do you feel when Alfred's not around? You miss him, right?"

Grudgingly, Kiku thought about it. In recent months he _had_ found himself more and more receptive to Alfred's invitations to "hang out". And he had sometimes felt a tinge of sadness when he was alone in his house, whereas before the solitude had never bothered him...

"And I bet you secretly want to kiss him!"

Blushing, Kiku continued to think. He'd never kissed anyone before, but Alfred's lips always looked so soft. He hadn't even realized that he'd noticed this. And sometimes, when he looked into Alfred's large blue eyes and seen the landscape reflected in them...

"And you like to hear him talk?"

Alfred wasn't the best for intelligent conversation, but he never allowed for a single moment of awkward silence, and Kiku had always been grateful for that since he himself wasn't the best at talking. And when Alfred set his mind to something, he was dedicated and passionate, and always well meaning, even when he ended up making things worse (which was a great deal of the time). He was always open (often painfully blunt) so Kiku never had to wonder what he was thinking or try to interpret subtle cues- another thing he was bad at. Truthfully, although Alfred made him nervous, he was, paradoxically, the one person Kiku could never get tired of being around and always felt comfortable with.

Oh, who was he kidding? Feliciano was right.

Kiku missed Alfred terribly when he had to go weeks without seeing him. Everything in his house felt cold. He'd find himself staring at the picture of him and Alfred on his mantelpiece, the one where they were standing on top of the Empire State building and Alfred's arm was around Kiku and he was grinning wildly and the wind was tugging at their hair and clothes. And when they were alone together (and even sometimes when they weren't alone, inappropriate as it was) Kiku would notice Alfred's appearance. He'd catch himself imagining what it would feel like to run his fingers through Alfred's hair, or he would wonder if Alfred might be warm to the touch. He would be talking to Alfred and then suddenly get distracted by the blueness of his wide eyes, or the softness of his hands.

He was head over heels for Alfred F. Jones and he had no idea what to do about it.

"What do I do?" Kiku looked helplessly at Feliciano, who chuckled.

"It's simple! You just have to tell him how you feel! We'll find him after dinner. Oh, and by the way, you don't have to worry about Francis!" He continued before Kiku could protest. "Arthur is at their table now so it's not a date!"

"But what could I possibly say?" Kiku sputtered. The relief he felt that Francis and Alfred were not on a date was soon replaced by crippling fear. "What if he does not-"

"Oh, Kiku, you think too much!" Feliciano giggled, then grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the restroom.

When they arrived back at their table, all the food had arrived. Ludwig gave them a questioning look.

"You two sure were gone a long time."

"Oh yes! Kiku's not sick, he's just in love with Alfred, that's all!" Feliciano said happily. Kiku felt like crawling under the table and dying.

"So those symptoms were caused by... love," Ludwig said slowly. Feliciano smiled at him.

"Of course!"

Ludwig stared.

"I'll be right back," he muttered, hurrying to the bathroom. Feliciano, oblivious this time around, turned to his spaghetti and began to shovel it in. Kiku just stared forlornly at his pasta primavera. There was no way he'd be able to eat properly now.

What if Alfred didn't return his feelings? Then everything would be awkward. They probably couldn't even be friends anymore. The idea of never seeing Alfred made his chest hurt, and he felt sick again. Maybe he shouldn't tell him. But now that he had realized his feelings, it would be that much harder to contain them... He sighed and started trying to eat his food.

About an hour later, it was time to return to their hotel rooms and attempt to sleep in preparation for a long flight home through several time zones. Ludwig and Feliciano took a taxi to their hotel and Francis dragged Arthur on a last-minute sightseeing expedition, leaving Alfred and Kiku alone.

"You know, our hotel isn't that far away and it's a pretty night," Alfred noted. "Let's just walk." Unable to speak, Kiku simply nodded. Alfred immediately filled up the silence with his usual jabber, and Kiku felt himself starting to relax a little.

"Ooh, look, an iridium flare!" Alfred said happily, pointing at the clear sky. The moonlight illumated his happy smile. "That's when sunlight reflects off a satellite," he explained proudly, even though Kiku already knew this. Alfred had been getting a kick out astronomy for the past couple of months. He misinterpreted a lot of what he read, but there were a few things he got right. "Ah, did you know that we're going to have detailed pictures of Pluto and stuff in just a couple of years? That's so cool, isn't it? I can't wait til we put a base up there or something. I bet we'd have to bring really heavy coats and stuff though. Dude, it's probably, like, Russia temperature out there or something. Oh my gosh, I totally forgot, I need to make that presentation on terraforming Mars so we can get started on it-"

"I love you," Kiku blurted. Alfred stopped talking, his expression unreadable. The realization of what he had just done started to dawn on Kiku and he panicked.

"I-I apologize! _Sumimasen_! I am very sorry!" He cried, looking everywhere but Alfred's face. "I do not know what came over me! I did not intend to s-say it like that! I will leave immediaMMPH..."

Alfred's lips were suddenly on his and every thought was banished from Kiku's mind. He saw the moon out of the corner of his eye before his wide eyes fluttered shut. He felt Alfred's hand on his cheek and was completely still.

It could have been 10 seconds or it could have been 2 minutes when they stopped kissing, for all Kiku knew or cared. Alfred was blushing and he had a huge smile on his face. He then abandoned every semblance of seriousness and drew Kiku into a tight hug. Kiku thought he might faint.

"I love you too!" He practically shouted, despite Kiku's frantic efforts to shush him.

Alfred stepped back to look at Kiku. He looked very different than he usually did. His hair was slightly mussed from the hug, his mouth was a little open, his eyes were wide, and his cheeks were a deep shade of red. It made him want to start kissing him all over again, harder this time, but he figured Kiku had had enough PDA and restrained himself.

They were on their way back to the hotel, anyway.

AN: Holy crap on a cracker, that was sappy even for me. Once again, I liked it at first and then the end was just kind of nerf. Also I wish I could have made it funnier. Ah well. Review and let me know if you liked it, or if it sucked (but if it sucked be sure to tell me how I can improve it!).

The layover thing? Based on a true story. This past Thursday I was trying to fly home from astronomy camp and I had a layover at Chicago Midway. I ended up getting stuck due to a runway lighting malfunction and having to fly somewhere that was NOT my destination and get a ride from two random strangers to make it home because all the flights to my city were booked through Saturday (that's about 30 hours chilling in an airport, folks). Complete and total clusterfuck right there. I was awake for about 32 hours that day (days?) due to time zones as well as the delay. I'm not sure if stuff like this happens internationally but okay. XD You can google it and find news articles, I'm totally serious.

On a random note, I think this is the longest oneshot I've ever written!

P.S. This story bears some similarities to a GerIta story I have in my favorites called That's When You Know. I came up with the idea prior to reading that fanfiction, so I didn't copy it, but I thought I ought to write something about it in here. What happened was that I was originally thinking about not doing the whole symptoms thing until I saw how well the author of the other story pulled off and I figured it would be okay to do it- I already had the idea. There is also a jealousy theme in TWYK, but again, I had already had the idea. I wanted to write a story where Kiku gets jealous. Anyway, That's When You Know IS SUPER SUPER GREAT AND YOU SHOULD GO READ IT RIGHT NOW. I do apologize for the similarities, though, and I hope it isn't an issue.

Also that reminds me, my other AmeriPan fanfiction, On Nightmares and Those Who Have Them, does not in any way have the same plot as On Cookies and Those Who Make Them, another fantastic story, but it seems when I was trying to come up with a title my subconscious drew upon that title and I didn't realize it was inspired by something I had already seen. Sorry!


End file.
